Newsletter 159 Spring 2013

NEWSLETTER 159 SPRING 2013 Renaissance of Trevithick: Arthur Young assembling parts for the Puffing Devil. Reg. Charity 1 No. 246586 CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS Patience As we come to the Annual General Meeting of 2013 we can look back onto some achievements that have eventually come to pass. I have a file that goes back ten years and deals with the previous owners of the former Holman Bros No. 3 site in Trevu Road, Camborne. They were sympathetic to our needs and we hoped that their development of the site would enable us to acquire a property for the Trevithick Society. That was not to be but the subsequent owners of the site kindly stepped in and suggested our use of the former Holman showroom building close to Camborne railway station. This Society made an offer that was very kindly accepted and solicitors are now discussing the terms of a 99-year lease. While the Cornish Engines Preservation Society owned a number of buildings, this will be the first ‘home’ for the Society in 78 years; now the work really starts. After a false start when a funding application failed, we have looked forward to regularising the listing and storage of tens of thousands of items acquired by this Society over the years. The current digitisation project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund will enable us to assess what we have, where it is and put the results on-line so that we can share the remarkable industrial history of Cornwall with researchers and educationalists everywhere. The recent recognition on BBC2 television of Richard Trevithick’s contribution to the advance of industrial and transport development has placed him amongst the most important inventors of all time. This has taken a long time but I must thank all those who built the replica of Trevithick’s 1801 Camborne road locomotive and demonstrated it to the world. That’s something that has also taken over ten years but the results have been very worthwhile. We have a lot of work ahead of us and always appreciate any assistance our members can provide. Philip M Hosken EDITORIAL This is such a bumper edition of the Newsletter that there is no room for a report on the Puffing Devil’s winter sojourn. In actual fact there is little to report because the next outing for the engine is on Trevithick Day and the crew only need to assemble a week or so before that in order to give the engine a steam clean, a fresh coat of black heat- resistant paint, and sort out any minor maintenance issues. Colin French Established 1935 Copy date for next newsletter: June 15th 2013 2 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Q and A Dear Editor, Is there still mining in Cornwall? It was good to read Kingsley’s Yes there is! And the people who excellent report on the London meeting of know were in Liskeard.... the European Federation of Associations Margot Saher “WOW..... What of Industrial and Technical Heritage in a fascinating night the South Crofty the latest very interesting and informative presentation hosted by the East Cornwall issue of the newsletter (no 158). Branch of the Society was”. He went to the heart of the matter Chris Davie, Kevin Williams, Keith in pin-pointing the clear message from Russ and Sue Bradbury of Western United the presentations given at the meeting Mines gave members an amazing insight that volunteers are to be appreciated as of the work being carried out to bring tin playing a vital role in the preservation and mining back to Cornwall. running of industrial heritage sites all round At the end of the presentation Europe and we might add essential in the there was an absorbing question and preservation and running of supporting answer session that many of the audience associations such as the Trevithick felt would be appreciated by other Society, the fore-runner of similar societies members; so here is a summary of those elsewhere in the UK and on the Continent. questions. He himself showed his appreciation of I apologise if I have missed the role of volunteers in acknowledging anyone’s question. It doesn’t mean to say the unstinted generosity of the Greater they were not important, just that I was London Industrial Archaeology Society and too absorbed by the answers to take all its volunteers in supporting the meeting. I the notes! The South Crofty Question and should add that hire of the Toynbee Hall, answer session: where the meeting took place and where appropriately Marconi first demonstrated Will old infrastructure be re-used? his wireless in the UK, was made possible Much of the existing infrastructure through the support and generosity of the is unsuitable for trackless mining. Association for Industrial Archaeology, Therefore, the majority of the infrastructure with which the Trevithick Society has a will be new but there will have to be work fraternal, one might even say parental, undertaken to make the old workings connection. safe. The AIA represents the IA sector at national level, as E-Faith does at Will minerals other than tin be extracted? European level, and has a conference with The primary source of income associated visits each year. This year this will be tin, but also possibly associated event is to be held in Dundee from 8th-15th copper, zinc and tungsten. Other minerals August and Trevithick Society members exist but are unlikely to contribute to the are welcome, indeed urged, to attend. The project economics. AIA also arranges visits to IA sites abroad - http://www.industrial-archaeology.org/ Are radioactive minerals an issue? click on ‘events’ and ‘overseas visits’ - and There are no issues in the new this year is ‘Roaming the Ruhr’ from 13th- development area, but parts of the old 18th May. workings will be sealed off due to high Paul Saulter. levels of Radon. 3 Will Roskear Shaft be used? county council are valid and mining can Once that section has been de- be undertaken despite concerns raised watered it will be used as a ventilation by UNESCO. There may well be a shaft. Williams shaft will also be re-opened misunderstanding at UNESCO about the as a ventilation shaft. nature of the mining operation, and once this has been clarified there should be no What will happen to the mine waste? conflict between the heritage status and The waste rock will be processed mineral extraction at South Crofty. by a contractor to be used as aggregate, waste tailings from the mill will be used to How will the ore be transported from the back fill workings. (paste fill) mine? There will be approximately one How many personnel will be employed container a week leaving by road to a underground? port. There are 45 people employed currently at the site. This will be increased Will renewable energy be used? to 85 during the development phase and A power survey will be conducted then rise to 200-300 when production but it is probable that the mine will have starts. Of these 80-100 will be working to provide a major part of its demand on underground. site. Because of the nature of its power requirements the base load will best be What is the situation regarding UNESCO met by gas or diesel generators, although opposition to mining within the World the feasibility of using wind power as a Heritage site? supplement will be considered. The mining permits were issued to South Crofty after a long period of How about using hot rocks? consultation when no objections relating Unfortunately, the temperature to the heritage site status were raised. gradient at the depths to be worked will Therefore, the permits issued by Cornwall be too small to provide power. Drilling An impression of the planned future of Cornish Mining, the new mill at Tuckingmill. Note that: • There are no new head frames as all the ore will come up an incline into the mill building. • There are no waste tips as all the deads will be converted to aggregate. • There will be no tailing dams as the mill waste will be backfilled underground. • The Iconic South Crofty headframe will remain unused as a landmark. 4 deeper to utilise geothermal energy will • Reconcile current and historic require prohibitive capital investment that resource data. will make it uneconomic with the current • Water discharge testing. technology. • Commence de-watering Dolcoath. • Advance the decline 250 metres. Will further financing be needed to enter • Drive cross cuts to the south at three production? levels to intersect resources in South Yes, this will be raised through Entral and Dolcoath Main lodes. the Canadian markets once the status of • Cross cut to north for drill access to the reserves have been confirmed. Roskear lodes. Continue drilling to north and south as decline advances. Are you prospecting other sites in • Cut levels and commence and Cornwall? longitudinal sampling in each of the The company holds mineral rights two lodes. to many other sites in Cornwall which • Metallurgical test work. could be economic to mine. However, • Resource update. South Crofty has such a high potential that • Assess potential for early production. the company will focus its efforts on that operation and leave other companies to The evening was a fantastic develop reserves elsewhere. It is aware opportunity for the Society members to that other companies are conducting gain an insight in to what could become investigative drilling on other sites. a new chapter in Cornish engineering. Many thanks from the members must go What’s next? to Sue Bradbury for arranging the talk, and Chris Davies explained the three to Chris Davies, Kevin Williams and Keith phases of development that will be required Russ of Western United mines for their before the above images become reality.

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